Since I'm not doing any of the work, my opinions feel selfish but here you anyway. 1. tailights: I'd go stock, the rounds make it look like an F355 imposter to me. There's a classic look to the segmented stock tails that screams 80s, which is totally appropriate for this car. 2. fuel filler doors: I'd go stock there, too, since I'm not the one staring at sourcing the parts and doing all of the body work. 3. I'll contradict myself and say the dual exhaust should stay. She's going to be a stunner when she's done, regardless of what you do. You do you.
I asked for opinions and these are tough decisions for me. The feedback including reasons why is what I want so by all means keep it coming. 1. Ferrari? That knocked it down a bit. 2. I prefer the stock look, but I didn't show all the mess behind the flap on the inside of the car. I am on the fence so far on this one. A lot of fabrication will be needed to make is stock for sure. 3. Why, thank you Whosdis. I want to "make it right!"
This was a good episode !! I don’t know the original look of the fill cap but I like what’s on there 😊the tail lights I think round tail lights would look good ! That’s my opinion
Thank you Guido for the suggestions and noted! I should have included a picture of what the original filler flap looked like for reference. So happy you enjoyed the episode.
Good progress on your car. Tail lights? Both standard square Toyota Corolla GT and later round ones (prefer bulps to led), looks good. Do what ever you like yourself. But do color the whole car in body color, which also means in the frunk etc. Mine was colored all over from factory and it looks much better. Late V8's had a carpet in the frunk. Easy to make. I have a correction to make: this is not an S3 car. There are someone out there who keeps on making statements that this is an S3. That is nonsense. The Giugiaro cars were S1, S2, S2,2, S3, NA, HC, HCi and more and in 1988 came the Stevens cars, which yours is. Those were as NA, Turbo, Turbo SE, Highwing etc. all redesigned by Peter Stevens. After those came the yet again redesigned S4 series with the S4, Sport300 (some elements were from the SE) S4s, GT3, and the V8 cars of various kinds. So, take a look inside the headlight motors gears, as they have 3 plastic rolls each which over time turns into powder. New cheap delrin ones are made by an American gentleman for lots of GM cars (that is where the motors came from ). When doing the red hose to a propper braided one, some people use a piece of fitting to convert the thread. I just cut up the thread on a new aluminium Lad Rover 2b slave cylinder to suit the end thread of the new hose. Less hassle, less sealings and saves weight. Depending what you actually want to use the car for, those brakes and a couple of other bits may be improved upon greatly. The standard brakes in good condition, are outright dangerous. Sorry, but have to say the truth, nothing less. Big brakes as in the 322mm vented aluminium belled ones from later cars are the best by far. Some use original Lotus AP Racing calipers (I do) from Sport350 front and general late type rear with a separate parking caliper as well, or propper 4 piston rear calipers and adaptation for propper braking balance. Some use other brands or even 6 piston calipers, and for example the American calipers you suggest yourself. But beware that not all of those have road seals. They do make some very light aluminium parking brake calipers now, so that you don't have to use the super heavy Brembo parking caliper as on Elise and late Esprits etc. But be aware, that they need modification to suit. They need to be spaced out. But after that, MUCH improved setup, and you can now go fast and depend on stopping as you like. Some use other pads and another master cylinder as well. Plus the usual hoses etc. I did write earlier about the Lotac Lotus red poly bushings, and this is another area that improves with those: brakes gets better when using better bushings, suspension etc. On Sport300 onwards, Lotus used lower or none road noise dampers on top of each damper. Lowers the car. Seats have very tall spacer underneath and can be removed to lower seating position if you are tall or want to lower center of gravity. Speaking of, the Lotac programme made a (very) expensive set of Eibach springs and Bilstein dampers of the correct length. Honestly, they are fine and will keep the original handling. The do have two settings for height, moving a lock ring 10mm. Do ballast the car correctly, when installing and doing geo, other wise it will become too high. But Lotus changed the whole setup several times over the production of 29 years. They went from say antidive, to prodive, back to anti dive. This all affected the handling, geo and springs, dampers and front anti roll bar, bushings, tire size and height, steering and dive etc. Again, I would suggest you sit down and rethink what you want to use the car for. Should it be all original? Ors should it move on with model development and setup geometry and steering? And will you use it for slow street cars & coffee meets, or spirited back road driving or track day use, or dull on race use? Honestly, and others may chime in here with their view on matters, I have found some of the suspension offerings out there to be fairly bad, too short dampers, adapted springs etc. and some work badly on adjustment etc. and after having wasted time and effort on these, one may want a propper setup in the suspension department. After all, That is what Lotus are famous for. Again, think of their change in setup over the years, as they steer quite differently. There are some good ones: Öhlins, Leda, Nitron and JRZ to name a few. But beware, there are also many fancy looking crap ones. PM me if need be. There's a lot to this. In relation to this, you may also rethink to what degree you want to take the car. Should it be a performance car or standard Lotus performance, which is already at a high level. The 1989 onwards to S4 series, had reshaped lower side panels which allowed more air to cool engine and brakes. Late engines had a larger oil pan which again allowed more of that, Sport300 had deleted the small square fog lights (drive lights) from the 1989- front bumper to allow better front brake cooling with extra airducts etc. Some may argue that this is not needed on a standard engine performance, but I disagree on that, as I think the best solutions is just as fine on a standard engine, when taking out that power on to the asphalt. 1989-1990 has a thicker fromt arb together with the Sport350, but most other cars had a thinner one, again depending on the setup in general - prodive/antidive. Front lips went from none, over a small lip 1992, to Sport300 and late V8 ones which where pretty big, with the effects that gives, also in unison with tail solutions. Don't unbalance the car. I noticed the 3 fans which looks to be something like Spal fans, which are saving power and moving a LOT more air. Personally, I am onto making the best shroud possible for that, as I want all the air passing through, not around. The fans on say an SE from 1991 are better than later type V8 which is not as weather resistant as the earlier ones. Make sure yours are weather proofed as they come in variations. If going a bit more extreme, now that you took the trouble of lifting the body off, one may consider the Sport300 engine brace, which is a tubular frame bolted on. It requires 4 welded on "hats". Unobtainable, but can be found (pm). It stiffens up the whole rear. The rear cross brace can definitely be improved. Andreä Schröder did a nice one. And while at it, you may want to take a close look at the gear master cut out in the center of the frame, as it sometimes cracks. A stiffening plate exists and bolts and welds in. All done on later cars. Look also at the front frame, where on later cars 1989 SE onwards, there are two extra cross bracings welded in, one each side. On power steering cars, they were bolted in to give access. Also, the braces from chassis to cooling cassette shroud, were redone as a "Y" instead on two single sticks, one each side. Better holding the cooling cassette. Worth doing. In the frunk on 1989 onwards, there were a different molding to the body itself, stiffening it up further. It consists of a semi cross thick piece of fiber, going from the front towards the wind screen. Take a look at that. Also for crash protection. Depending on weather, most shims for the whole car when adjusting the full geo, can be had in stainless. I prefer and have aluminium fuel tanks. MUCH lighter and works well. Remember the closed cell pads above and below fuel tanks. Cross fuel tube exists in stainless or aluminium. I use the later for weight, but anodised, and no problems. So are the rings that support the rubber parts that attach to the body each side, between the fuel tanks. I like your fillers, but should me matte, not shiny ;) They call for too much attention for themselves. Wheels are nice from Lotus, for example OZ Futura Modular, AWI Monobloc etc. 8,5/17 front and 10 or 10,5/18 rear. But borrow a set from a friend first, as most 1988 cars or even 1989 have not enough room to turn properly. Some 1990 have, incl. mine, and I run OZ Futura Modular in Euro size as mentioned (US wheels were similar but much smaller), and I made them wide to suit Sport300 width tires and it steers absolutely perfect. No servo needed. Later S4 cars have extra possibilities for adjusting angles front. Early 1988-1992 cars had a reversed brake disc/hub setup and different center hole for wheels, but can be either changed or altered to suit. Worth looking into. Some say the later cars became lazy and too big. i strongly dissagree, and I find mine very active in steering and having an extreme mechanical grip. Adjustable Nitron suspension certainly does it's part too. Personally, I don't like exposed carbon, save a few bits and bobs. I have a carbon roof, complete tailgate, B-pilar covers, head light covers and only the later are visible in black matte carbon. I think it makes the car look terribly like a crashed rebuilt jap scrap burn out street wanabee racer. That is fine, just not my two cents. Or at least in a hidden elegant way ;) Each to his own of course. But it will hide the beautiful lines of the Stevens design. Okay, so I'll stop here, as this was just a few comments for the stage where you are now, and await your next development. Most interesting ;) Thanks for sharing. Kind regards, Jacques
I must say Jacque you provided a ton of great in-depth information. Thank you so much. I need to review it a few times to absorb it all. You definitely gave me a lot to think about. I hope others learn from your comments as well. As for calling it an S3, you are accurate that it is not. Is it appropriate to call it a X180, Steven’s, or pre-Mclaren F1practice design :) ? You certainly know your Esprit’s. I will dissect each mentioned point as I approach the build for my many decisions in planning of what this car will become. I certainly will have a few late nights coming up thinking about all what you provided. I love your comprehensive info and appreciate it a great deal.
I would go with the V8 lights and leave the fuel filler alone or replace it with aluminum. Your videos inspired me me to find some treat puzzles for my dog!
It is definitely an easier route to go with the V8 lights and do less on the fuel filler flap. Thanks for the opinion and happy to get your dog some extra love!
Fantastic series, look foward to the updates. I'd minimise the body cutting avoid possible misalignment and go the the round tail lights, a black (or black chrome) fuel filler would look cool.
Thanks John. We are in full agreement in avoiding cutting the body. It likely will not be the same ever again if done. And another vote for a black chrome filler flap is noted.
Another great video. V8 round tail lights would go well. Also, don't bother re-engineering the previous mods to the filler caps. Black, carbon fiber or yellow like the body would all fit nicely.
Thank you Neil. I appreciate the “authenticity” of your answer too! 😀 When it comes to such amazing and rare cars it is hard to argue with what you are saying.
I enjoy the videos thank you as for the colour of the body that houses the light pods it’s body coloured and the boot floor is black with the wheel arches and bulkhead is body colour in the boot I have an 1989 anniversary Esprit. car number 03 in pleasant white and mine has not been repainted just as it came out the factory hope this helps 👍
Car number 3! That is amazing and happy to hear it is so well preserved. Thanks for confirming how it was painted from the factory. That is my aim. I did see some pictures on the web of the factory paint schemes, but feel much better hearing it first hand from someone who has an original.
my red '85 S3 has black under the front bonnet as well, the polyester under the front screen is also black. for the rear I would go for the toyota rear lights, however you do not need to replace the complete rear, just the end panel with the lights. remember it is old grp so you are better of repairing it with epoxy as epoxy sticks better to old grp as grp to grp does. that fuel filler door looks good to me! but a big yes for a carbon one or can you keep it and black chrome it? as I have rebuild mine from rhd to lhd I went for an eps colum, maybe thats a option for you as well, the are heavy on the steering at parking speed. good luck with the build and have fun!
Mr Bond, love that username, thank you for really good tips. One question I need to ask out there is from the factory was under the bonnet color matching to the body or were they all black no matter the color. Great advice you have for how to mould the rear back to where it needs to be and I never thought of black chrome for the filler door. That might be a good way to go too. I have thought of electric steering as there are some good replacements out there. For the little driving I have done with the car I didn’t find the manual rack too bad, but electric definitely would be better. Now your rhd to lhd conversion is a video worth sharing!
@@SlippingTime it does makes sense for the factory to paint it in the body color (cheaper) and it does makes sense for the previous owner to paint it black as everything under the hood is getting dirty quickly (and looking how he fucked up the rest of the body I think he painted it black) . about that RHD to LHD conversion, I don't do video's I only watch them 😂
@@mrbond4722 I am honored you chose my videos as to watch in that case. And yes nothing surprises me in this car to not be proper based on the evidence of how it was hacked up in the past.
There is a guy on Ebay selling the V8 round tail lights kit. This kit comes with the FG piece that goes all the way across the back and the lights. He might be asking more than a new one costs but might be worth a look. Push you one way or another if the price is right.
Great series…I’m watching closely. Tail lights, personally If I could not get them back to 100% of their original setup and style I’d go with round LED style one you can get from HethelSport. Billet fuel door doesn’t bother me at all…perhaps just make it black like the rest of the accents?
The Russell Carr redesign for the 2002 - 2004 Esprit. If you plan to do these tail lights go wit the center exhaust as well or it will look really odd.
Great update. I found when I was restoring my Lotus Europa that once I made the decision to not make the car 100% stock I felt I had the freedom to do what I wanted. My plan is to slowly convert the car to Lotus 47 styling. Will it kill the value? Likely but I didn't buy the Europa as an investment, I bought it to drive. My Esprit Turbo is 100% stock at this point so will stay that way. Rear tailights? I would go with the V8 style, looks great and does modernize the rear to some extent. Fuel fill cap, I don't mind what's there but I'm a racing car fanatic. Perhaps powder coat it black or paint body colour?
Make it your own is good advice Kevin. Tasteful and performance enhancements have a place for sure. You perhaps have explained that my decision really is do I want it all original or down with improvements from what it once was. More to think on for sure.
@@SlippingTime I went for improvements over original as well, however I like to keep the outside look original(isch) ans I think the late v8 rearlight conversion is the easier one @ Kevin, great to make a 47 look a like. when I started restoring my europa s2 I found out the body was so badly "restored" I bought myself a Banks Europa 62 body.... the rest is history (but a good one)
The area under the headlight pod is black? I have a G car and its the color of my car. Were the Steven cars black or maybe that was done during the respray?
Great question starbuckcylcon. I have the same one. I need to find out if these versions were all black in the bonnet/headlight pods no matter what exterior color. I am thinking of making everything one color. Maybe someone might answer us in the comments. My car has evidence of black and yellow re-sprays and still not sure what the original color combo was. I have learned enough though that since these were hand built that one car might have subtle differences from the next one made in the same line.
Take those covers off and see how they did that hideous light conversation the lights underneath might be the original. I would get the PNM V8 elise light conversation for sure.
Unfortunately those aren’t covers. They are moulded as part of the body now. They need to be cut out. The lights underneath are strip lighting. In an up coming video I am showing what it looks behind as well. I realized I did not have that for the viewers yet.
@@SlippingTime thats a shame, there is a car breaker in the UK called Douglas Valley and they have Esprit in so you might get some parts off them, I had an S3 Turbo HC in the 90s
Rear end's gotta go. I'd get the paint off 1st and see how the lights were filled in. lots of people use body filler which doesn't bond well to the polyester (pretty sure the body is polyester resin). I've had it with GRP where you can just weaken the join with an abrasive pad, then crack the whole lot off. If this is the case, the resto is going to be easy. Failing that the V8 lights wont devalue it at all imo, not my cup of tea but it's perfectly ok, plenty of people have done it - either option will be fine. Don't cut the back end off, that'd be a nightmare and someone would see the repair and think it's been in a shunt. They have fused the rear transom/lip on as well which is a shame. Fillers look OK, they're not on the same level as the tail lights, with some black parts/carbon they should pass, Chrome doesnt suit the Esprit imo. Again depending on how they modified it will tell you how easy it might be to reverse.... BUT you'd need, the door flaps, catches, hinge, release solenoid and so on to make it work...lots of effort. As it happens I am not putting the flap mechanism back on my car (probably keep it for spares for my 2nd Esprit) but I can def show you what the guts of the system looks like.
Great info and advice as always Jonathan. I can tell from the rear of the light openings there is still an outline of the original setup. We think the same on cutting and splicing the back. I am quite nervous of going that route. Yes, the chrome fuel flaps look has to go. The solenoids are still in the car believe it or not. But things are cut and filled to a point of very difficult to return to original.
I do love both green and yellow for a Lotus since they are both their branded colors. Yellow is my first choice. Green is a close second. What makes it non-negotiable is my wife likes the yellow. 😉
Since I'm not doing any of the work, my opinions feel selfish but here you anyway.
1. tailights: I'd go stock, the rounds make it look like an F355 imposter to me. There's a classic look to the segmented stock tails that screams 80s, which is totally appropriate for this car.
2. fuel filler doors: I'd go stock there, too, since I'm not the one staring at sourcing the parts and doing all of the body work.
3. I'll contradict myself and say the dual exhaust should stay.
She's going to be a stunner when she's done, regardless of what you do. You do you.
I asked for opinions and these are tough decisions for me. The feedback including reasons why is what I want so by all means keep it coming.
1. Ferrari? That knocked it down a bit.
2. I prefer the stock look, but I didn't show all the mess behind the flap on the inside of the car. I am on the fence so far on this one. A lot of fabrication will be needed to make is stock for sure.
3. Why, thank you Whosdis. I want to "make it right!"
I am restoring a 1979 Lotus Esprit. Great videos! Keep them coming.
Will do Sewards72. I am so glad you enjoy the videos. Best of luck on the 79! Thanks for watching!
This was a good episode !! I don’t know the original look of the fill cap but I like what’s on there 😊the tail lights I think round tail lights would look good ! That’s my opinion
Thank you Guido for the suggestions and noted! I should have included a picture of what the original filler flap looked like for reference. So happy you enjoyed the episode.
Good progress on your car. Tail lights? Both standard square Toyota Corolla GT and later round ones (prefer bulps to led), looks good. Do what ever you like yourself. But do color the whole car in body color, which also means in the frunk etc. Mine was colored all over from factory and it looks much better. Late V8's had a carpet in the frunk. Easy to make.
I have a correction to make: this is not an S3 car. There are someone out there who keeps on making statements that this is an S3. That is nonsense.
The Giugiaro cars were S1, S2, S2,2, S3, NA, HC, HCi and more and in 1988 came the Stevens cars, which yours is. Those were as NA, Turbo, Turbo SE, Highwing etc. all redesigned by Peter Stevens. After those came the yet again redesigned S4 series with the S4, Sport300 (some elements were from the SE) S4s, GT3, and the V8 cars of various kinds.
So, take a look inside the headlight motors gears, as they have 3 plastic rolls each which over time turns into powder. New cheap delrin ones are made by an American gentleman for lots of GM cars (that is where the motors came from ). When doing the red hose to a propper braided one, some people use a piece of fitting to convert the thread. I just cut up the thread on a new aluminium Lad Rover 2b slave cylinder to suit the end thread of the new hose. Less hassle, less sealings and saves weight.
Depending what you actually want to use the car for, those brakes and a couple of other bits may be improved upon greatly. The standard brakes in good condition, are outright dangerous. Sorry, but have to say the truth, nothing less. Big brakes as in the 322mm vented aluminium belled ones from later cars are the best by far. Some use original Lotus AP Racing calipers (I do) from Sport350 front and general late type rear with a separate parking caliper as well, or propper 4 piston rear calipers and adaptation for propper braking balance. Some use other brands or even 6 piston calipers, and for example the American calipers you suggest yourself. But beware that not all of those have road seals. They do make some very light aluminium parking brake calipers now, so that you don't have to use the super heavy Brembo parking caliper as on Elise and late Esprits etc. But be aware, that they need modification to suit. They need to be spaced out. But after that, MUCH improved setup, and you can now go fast and depend on stopping as you like. Some use other pads and another master cylinder as well. Plus the usual hoses etc. I did write earlier about the Lotac Lotus red poly bushings, and this is another area that improves with those: brakes gets better when using better bushings, suspension etc. On Sport300 onwards, Lotus used lower or none road noise dampers on top of each damper. Lowers the car. Seats have very tall spacer underneath and can be removed to lower seating position if you are tall or want to lower center of gravity.
Speaking of, the Lotac programme made a (very) expensive set of Eibach springs and Bilstein dampers of the correct length. Honestly, they are fine and will keep the original handling. The do have two settings for height, moving a lock ring 10mm. Do ballast the car correctly, when installing and doing geo, other wise it will become too high. But Lotus changed the whole setup several times over the production of 29 years. They went from say antidive, to prodive, back to anti dive. This all affected the handling, geo and springs, dampers and front anti roll bar, bushings, tire size and height, steering and dive etc. Again, I would suggest you sit down and rethink what you want to use the car for. Should it be all original? Ors should it move on with model development and setup geometry and steering? And will you use it for slow street cars & coffee meets, or spirited back road driving or track day use, or dull on race use? Honestly, and others may chime in here with their view on matters, I have found some of the suspension offerings out there to be fairly bad, too short dampers, adapted springs etc. and some work badly on adjustment etc. and after having wasted time and effort on these, one may want a propper setup in the suspension department. After all, That is what Lotus are famous for. Again, think of their change in setup over the years, as they steer quite differently. There are some good ones: Öhlins, Leda, Nitron and JRZ to name a few. But beware, there are also many fancy looking crap ones. PM me if need be. There's a lot to this.
In relation to this, you may also rethink to what degree you want to take the car. Should it be a performance car or standard Lotus performance, which is already at a high level. The 1989 onwards to S4 series, had reshaped lower side panels which allowed more air to cool engine and brakes. Late engines had a larger oil pan which again allowed more of that, Sport300 had deleted the small square fog lights (drive lights) from the 1989- front bumper to allow better front brake cooling with extra airducts etc.
Some may argue that this is not needed on a standard engine performance, but I disagree on that, as I think the best solutions is just as fine on a standard engine, when taking out that power on to the asphalt. 1989-1990 has a thicker fromt arb together with the Sport350, but most other cars had a thinner one, again depending on the setup in general - prodive/antidive. Front lips went from none, over a small lip 1992, to Sport300 and late V8 ones which where pretty big, with the effects that gives, also in unison with tail solutions. Don't unbalance the car.
I noticed the 3 fans which looks to be something like Spal fans, which are saving power and moving a LOT more air. Personally, I am onto making the best shroud possible for that, as I want all the air passing through, not around. The fans on say an SE from 1991 are better than later type V8 which is not as weather resistant as the earlier ones. Make sure yours are weather proofed as they come in variations. If going a bit more extreme, now that you took the trouble of lifting the body off, one may consider the Sport300 engine brace, which is a tubular frame bolted on. It requires 4 welded on "hats". Unobtainable, but can be found (pm). It stiffens up the whole rear. The rear cross brace can definitely be improved. Andreä Schröder did a nice one. And while at it, you may want to take a close look at the gear master cut out in the center of the frame, as it sometimes cracks. A stiffening plate exists and bolts and welds in. All done on later cars. Look also at the front frame, where on later cars 1989 SE onwards, there are two extra cross bracings welded in, one each side. On power steering cars, they were bolted in to give access. Also, the braces from chassis to cooling cassette shroud, were redone as a "Y" instead on two single sticks, one each side. Better holding the cooling cassette. Worth doing. In the frunk on 1989 onwards, there were a different molding to the body itself, stiffening it up further. It consists of a semi cross thick piece of fiber, going from the front towards the wind screen. Take a look at that. Also for crash protection.
Depending on weather, most shims for the whole car when adjusting the full geo, can be had in stainless. I prefer and have aluminium fuel tanks. MUCH lighter and works well. Remember the closed cell pads above and below fuel tanks. Cross fuel tube exists in stainless or aluminium. I use the later for weight, but anodised, and no problems. So are the rings that support the rubber parts that attach to the body each side, between the fuel tanks. I like your fillers, but should me matte, not shiny ;) They call for too much attention for themselves.
Wheels are nice from Lotus, for example OZ Futura Modular, AWI Monobloc etc. 8,5/17 front and 10 or 10,5/18 rear. But borrow a set from a friend first, as most 1988 cars or even 1989 have not enough room to turn properly. Some 1990 have, incl. mine, and I run OZ Futura Modular in Euro size as mentioned (US wheels were similar but much smaller), and I made them wide to suit Sport300 width tires and it steers absolutely perfect. No servo needed. Later S4 cars have extra possibilities for adjusting angles front. Early 1988-1992 cars had a reversed brake disc/hub setup and different center hole for wheels, but can be either changed or altered to suit. Worth looking into. Some say the later cars became lazy and too big. i strongly dissagree, and I find mine very active in steering and having an extreme mechanical grip. Adjustable Nitron suspension certainly does it's part too.
Personally, I don't like exposed carbon, save a few bits and bobs. I have a carbon roof, complete tailgate, B-pilar covers, head light covers and only the later are visible in black matte carbon. I think it makes the car look terribly like a crashed rebuilt jap scrap burn out street wanabee racer. That is fine, just not my two cents. Or at least in a hidden elegant way ;) Each to his own of course. But it will hide the beautiful lines of the Stevens design. Okay, so I'll stop here, as this was just a few comments for the stage where you are now, and await your next development. Most interesting ;)
Thanks for sharing.
Kind regards,
Jacques
I must say Jacque you provided a ton of great in-depth information. Thank you so much. I need to review it a few times to absorb it all. You definitely gave me a lot to think about. I hope others learn from your comments as well. As for calling it an S3, you are accurate that it is not. Is it appropriate to call it a X180, Steven’s, or pre-Mclaren F1practice design :) ? You certainly know your Esprit’s. I will dissect each mentioned point as I approach the build for my many decisions in planning of what this car will become. I certainly will have a few late nights coming up thinking about all what you provided. I love your comprehensive info and appreciate it a great deal.
I would go with the V8 lights and leave the fuel filler alone or replace it with aluminum. Your videos inspired me me to find some treat puzzles for my dog!
It is definitely an easier route to go with the V8 lights and do less on the fuel filler flap. Thanks for the opinion and happy to get your dog some extra love!
Fantastic series, look foward to the updates. I'd minimise the body cutting avoid possible misalignment and go the the round tail lights, a black (or black chrome) fuel filler would look cool.
Thanks John. We are in full agreement in avoiding cutting the body. It likely will not be the same ever again if done. And another vote for a black chrome filler flap is noted.
Another great video. V8 round tail lights would go well. Also, don't bother re-engineering the previous mods to the filler caps. Black, carbon fiber or yellow like the body would all fit nicely.
I enjoy the feedback. Keep it coming!
I would stay as original as possible with the rear lights. People like the authenticity.
Thank you Neil. I appreciate the “authenticity” of your answer too! 😀 When it comes to such amazing and rare cars it is hard to argue with what you are saying.
I enjoy the videos thank you as for the colour of the body that houses the light pods it’s body coloured and the boot floor is black with the wheel arches and bulkhead is body colour in the boot
I have an 1989 anniversary Esprit. car number 03 in pleasant white and mine has not been repainted just as it came out the factory
hope this helps 👍
Car number 3! That is amazing and happy to hear it is so well preserved. Thanks for confirming how it was painted from the factory. That is my aim. I did see some pictures on the web of the factory paint schemes, but feel much better hearing it first hand from someone who has an original.
my red '85 S3 has black under the front bonnet as well, the polyester under the front screen is also black. for the rear I would go for the toyota rear lights, however you do not need to replace the complete rear, just the end panel with the lights. remember it is old grp so you are better of repairing it with epoxy as epoxy sticks better to old grp as grp to grp does. that fuel filler door looks good to me! but a big yes for a carbon one or can you keep it and black chrome it? as I have rebuild mine from rhd to lhd I went for an eps colum, maybe thats a option for you as well, the are heavy on the steering at parking speed. good luck with the build and have fun!
Mr Bond, love that username, thank you for really good tips. One question I need to ask out there is from the factory was under the bonnet color matching to the body or were they all black no matter the color. Great advice you have for how to mould the rear back to where it needs to be and I never thought of black chrome for the filler door. That might be a good way to go too. I have thought of electric steering as there are some good replacements out there. For the little driving I have done with the car I didn’t find the manual rack too bad, but electric definitely would be better. Now your rhd to lhd conversion is a video worth sharing!
@@SlippingTime it does makes sense for the factory to paint it in the body color (cheaper) and it does makes sense for the previous owner to paint it black as everything under the hood is getting dirty quickly (and looking how he fucked up the rest of the body I think he painted it black) . about that RHD to LHD conversion, I don't do video's I only watch them 😂
@@mrbond4722 I am honored you chose my videos as to watch in that case. And yes nothing surprises me in this car to not be proper based on the evidence of how it was hacked up in the past.
There is a guy on Ebay selling the V8 round tail lights kit. This kit comes with the FG piece that goes all the way across the back and the lights. He might be asking more than a new one costs but might be worth a look. Push you one way or another if the price is right.
Thanks Eric. I will have a look. I definitely am weighing cost vs effort vs what looks better for this build.
Great series…I’m watching closely. Tail lights, personally If I could not get them back to 100% of their original setup and style I’d go with round LED style one you can get from HethelSport. Billet fuel door doesn’t bother me at all…perhaps just make it black like the rest of the accents?
Thanks Rick for the suggestions. The fuel door bothers me a lot less than those rear lights. At least I have options perhaps. 😀
The Russell Carr redesign for the 2002 - 2004 Esprit. If you plan to do these tail lights go wit the center exhaust as well or it will look really odd.
I will keep that in mind Joey. I appreciate the insight.
Great update. I found when I was restoring my Lotus Europa that once I made the decision to not make the car 100% stock I felt I had the freedom to do what I wanted. My plan is to slowly convert the car to Lotus 47 styling. Will it kill the value? Likely but I didn't buy the Europa as an investment, I bought it to drive. My Esprit Turbo is 100% stock at this point so will stay that way.
Rear tailights? I would go with the V8 style, looks great and does modernize the rear to some extent. Fuel fill cap, I don't mind what's there but I'm a racing car fanatic. Perhaps powder coat it black or paint body colour?
Make it your own is good advice Kevin. Tasteful and performance enhancements have a place for sure. You perhaps have explained that my decision really is do I want it all original or down with improvements from what it once was. More to think on for sure.
@@SlippingTime I went for improvements over original as well, however I like to keep the outside look original(isch) ans I think the late v8 rearlight conversion is the easier one @ Kevin, great to make a 47 look a like. when I started restoring my europa s2 I found out the body was so badly "restored" I bought myself a Banks Europa 62 body.... the rest is history (but a good one)
@@mrbond4722 I like that kind of history. 😀
The area under the headlight pod is black? I have a G car and its the color of my car. Were the Steven cars black or maybe that was done during the respray?
Great question starbuckcylcon. I have the same one. I need to find out if these versions were all black in the bonnet/headlight pods no matter what exterior color. I am thinking of making everything one color. Maybe someone might answer us in the comments. My car has evidence of black and yellow re-sprays and still not sure what the original color combo was. I have learned enough though that since these were hand built that one car might have subtle differences from the next one made in the same line.
Take those covers off and see how they did that hideous light conversation the lights underneath might be the original. I would get the PNM V8 elise light conversation for sure.
Unfortunately those aren’t covers. They are moulded as part of the body now. They need to be cut out. The lights underneath are strip lighting. In an up coming video I am showing what it looks behind as well. I realized I did not have that for the viewers yet.
@@SlippingTime thats a shame, there is a car breaker in the UK called Douglas Valley and they have Esprit in so you might get some parts off them, I had an S3 Turbo HC in the 90s
@@colinhutcheson1365 good to know. Thanks for the help Colin. All of you are providing this type information is gold for me.
Rear end's gotta go. I'd get the paint off 1st and see how the lights were filled in. lots of people use body filler which doesn't bond well to the polyester (pretty sure the body is polyester resin). I've had it with GRP where you can just weaken the join with an abrasive pad, then crack the whole lot off. If this is the case, the resto is going to be easy. Failing that the V8 lights wont devalue it at all imo, not my cup of tea but it's perfectly ok, plenty of people have done it - either option will be fine. Don't cut the back end off, that'd be a nightmare and someone would see the repair and think it's been in a shunt. They have fused the rear transom/lip on as well which is a shame.
Fillers look OK, they're not on the same level as the tail lights, with some black parts/carbon they should pass, Chrome doesnt suit the Esprit imo. Again depending on how they modified it will tell you how easy it might be to reverse.... BUT you'd need, the door flaps, catches, hinge, release solenoid and so on to make it work...lots of effort. As it happens I am not putting the flap mechanism back on my car (probably keep it for spares for my 2nd Esprit) but I can def show you what the guts of the system looks like.
Great info and advice as always Jonathan. I can tell from the rear of the light openings there is still an outline of the original setup. We think the same on cutting and splicing the back. I am quite nervous of going that route. Yes, the chrome fuel flaps look has to go. The solenoids are still in the car believe it or not. But things are cut and filled to a point of very difficult to return to original.
My Vote: Leave the filler cap covers as is; Go with original tail lights. Is it too late to vote for Lotus green ?
I do love both green and yellow for a Lotus since they are both their branded colors. Yellow is my first choice. Green is a close second. What makes it non-negotiable is my wife likes the yellow. 😉